Statesmen Open New Campaign at #4 Nationally
The new-look William Penn women’s wrestling team has put the nation on alert as it enters the new season in the top five after the NAIA released its preseason top-20 poll Thursday.
WPU is fourth nationally with 159 points, while Menlo (Calif.) is atop the standings with 201 points. Life (Ga.) is second with 180 points and Grand View is third (175), while Providence (Mont.) (138) rounds out the top five in fifth.
The Statesmen have the maximum 12 wrestlers ranked, headed by #1 Mia Palumbo (Jr., Oak Lawn, Ill., Exercise Science) at 109 pounds and Adaugo Nwachukwu (Jr., San Jose, Calif., Exercise Science) at 136 pounds.
Palumbo and Nwachukwu are the first Statesmen in program history to be hold a #1 ranking.
Ashley Lekas (So., Plano, Texas, Business Management) is next, sitting in second at 170 pounds, while Isabelle Hawley (So., Winchester, Calif., Sociology), in fifth at 143, and Joanna Vanderwood (Jr., Graham, Wash., Nursing), in seventh at 130, are also currently expected to be in All-America positions (top eight).
101-pounder Mya Turnmire (Sr., Machesney Park, Ill., Sports Management) is 10th, as is Alexis Montes (Fr., El Paso, Texas, Exercise Science) at 116 pounds. Right behind Montes at 116 is Brittany Cotter (Jr., Katy, Texas, Nursing) in 11th, while Devin Patton (So., Plano, Texas, Business Management) (130 pounds) and Grace Gray (So., Ankeny, Iowa, New Media) (191) are both 11th as well.
Naida Abdijanovic (So., St. Louis, Mo.) gives WPU a second nationally-ranked grappler at 143, sitting in 17th, while Catherine Steinkamp (Jr., Quincy, Ill., Exercise Science) doubles up WPU at 123 pounds with a ranking of 19th.
Looking at the league rankings, the Statesmen are second in the Heart of America Athletic Conference with 191 points, while Grand View guides the eight-team standings with 215 points.
Palumbo, Nwachukwu, and Hawley are all first at their respective weights, while Turnmire and Lekas are both second.
The duo of Cotter and Vanderwood are third, while Steinkamp, Abdijanovic, and Gray are all fourth. Montes and Patton are fifth in their weight classes to complete the Statesmen rankings.
